Fumetsu no Fushigi
by kazemizu'umi
Summary: Inu-Yasha and co. meet up with Sesshoumaru and his mother? A game from the future and spell from an unknown source lead several of the boys to get intouch with their feminine side. Someone plots against our favorite heros, and it isn't Naraku! Matchmaker
1. What? Sesshoumaru's mother? Where!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha or other associated characters. Original character Ayame Yokokama copyright belonging to me. You would not want to know what I would do with either half-brother if they belonged to me. Now, leaving you with those thoughts to chase each other and torment the living hell out of you, I give you my Fan fiction.

**Fumetsu no Fushigi**

_Immortal Mystery_

**Chapter One**

Inu-Yasha stopped, dropping Kagome from his back. He glowered slightly as Sango, Shippo, Kirara, and Miroku slowly caught up with him and Kagome.

"Inu-Yasha, why are we stopping? I thought we just took a break not too long ago."

He sniffed. "I hate that."

"Wha-." Sesshoumaru smirked, coming out from the trees. The group stared at Sesshoumaru uneasily, not knowing his intentions. Only Inu-Yasha actually glared at him.

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side, puzzlingly amused, "What is it, little brother? Have I done something to offend you?"

Inu-Yasha growled, then leaped at Sesshoumaru. The half-brothers battled on, throwing insults and taunts at each other. A woman with soft, white skin, silver hair and odd glowing blue eyes stood at the edge of the clearing, shaking her delicate-featured head slowly.

Miroku was, as usual, the first to spot the beautiful woman. He started forward, but stopped, an odd look on his face. "What's wrong, Miroku?" Shippo, having spotted the woman and Miroku's hesitance.

"That woman has an aura I've never seen."

"When will they learn?" The strange woman's voice floated over to them, soft melodious, and strangely melancholy.

"Sesshoumaru, Inu-Yasha. Kōru."

The two half-brothers froze, as if they had never been moving, or as if they were posing for an artist. Not a muscle twitched; only their eyes moved. The strange woman with strange aura walked from the shadows of the forest to the area of the fight. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in first shock, then recognition. She touched first him, then Inu-Yasha. Sesshoumaru, knowing what to expect, caught his balance fairly quickly, but remained silent. Inu-Yasha, having no knowledge of what was to happen, fell flat on his face. The others stifled giggles.

"WHAT THE HELL! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!"

Inu-Yasha jumped up and, Tetsusiaga in hand, marched over to the woman. Sesshoumaru insinuated himself between the two.

"No, Inu-Yasha. You don't want to do that. Don't you remember her?"

There was a pause.

"No. Should I?"

Kagome had inched her way to Inu-Yasha. She laid her hand on his arm.

"Why don't you introduce us, Sesshoumaru, since we don't know her and you seem to know her?"

The woman smiled, nodded and tapped Sesshoumaru's shoulder. She nodded to him. He sighed, stepped aside and motioned to her.

"This is Ayami Yokokama, my mother."

Stunned silence followed that proclamation. They stared at the two. It dawned on them and they noticed small similarities between the mother and son. A mark here, a mark there; the delicate arch of a brow; the tilt of their heads; the soft, white of their skin. The only major difference was height. Ayami came up to only his mid-stomach. She smiled benignly up at them, looking more and more like a nymph, or fairy… Some sort of faerie creature. Inu-Yasha got so close to her, looking at her, that their noses almost touched. He had to bend down slightly, of course.

"Why do you look familiar?"

Ayami reached up and tweaked his nose, then scratched behind his ear, sending him into subliminal bliss. Sesshoumaru and Kirara rolled their eyes and shook their heads. Sango and Miroku tried to keep from laughing while Shippo rolled on the ground, howling with laughter. Kagome looked thoughtful, then mischievous, like a little devil in modern times.

"I took care of you when your mother was otherwise … detained. It took her a while, but she learned that I didn't want to harm you. She thought me the jealous cast-away until InuTaishou informed her that _I_ had left _him_. After that, I became surrogate mother to you. Until I left, that is."

There was a crash, the sound of something large moving through the forest; something _very_ large. Ayami and Sesshoumaru looked over their shoulders; the former looking languidly, the latter curiously.

"Hm. It seems we have company."

Her voice sounded languid, bored. She turned and encompassed then all in her clear blue, piercing gaze. From behind her, the forest erupted, literally, to reveal the creator of the noise. It was a large, dragon-shaped youkai.

"I smell dirty hanyou. Heh heh heh … I guess I get the chance to exterminate two dirty-blooded hanyou." His voice grated like scales on stone; deep, rasping, and nerve-rending to the humans, especially to the hanyou and youkai.

Ayami closed her eyes in aggravation. Blood-red coloring stained her silver hair, spilling out from her scalp. Dark, black thunderheads rolled in, changing the beautiful day to night. The humans, Inu-Yasha, and Sesshoumaru backed away. Sesshoumaru remembered clearly, more than Inu-Yasha, who was struggling to bring his memory into sharper focus, the last time something like this happened.

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Flashback from Sesshoumaru

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Ayami, Sesshoumaru, and Inu-Yasha were walking through the youkai city. Inu-Yasha had, at first, visibly had his "doubts," verbally too. Sesshoumaru glanced at his little half-brother, holding onto Ayami's hand. _Mother says I'll come to hate him. When will that happen, I wonder? I'm not sure it's all that possible._

"Auntie Ayami! Can we get some sweets? I wanna give okaa-san something good after dinner."

Ayami laughed, "Okay. We'll head that way later on. Just remind me."

"Hey!" It was a youkai, one of the residents. "Hanyou aren't allowed in the city. So you and the brat will have to leave."

She turned around to face the youkai, tilting her head innocently, while red tainted her silver hair.

"Did you just call me a hanyou? The pup is hanyou, but he's under my protection, so he's allowed in. You called me hanyou, didn't you?"

He looked a little worried, but was confident. "Yeah, now get out. Your kind isn't allowed in here."

Ayami took a slow step forward; masked anger and undulated, unrestricted power flowed off her, in the ways of auras.

"And what is **_my_** kind? You've never encountered us before, because I am the first to leave. Look, now you've made me angry. Time to pay."

She advanced, hair half blood-red. The overconfident youkai jumped at her, seeing a fight on its way. There was a brief flurry of movement, and then the youkai was slammed against a wall, several bits of skin and blood lighter.

"If you _ever, **EVER **_threaten me, the pup, or call me a hanyou, you won't get off so easily." She threw him into the building opposite; it went down, becoming nothing more than a pile of rubble. She looked over her shoulder as she walked away, all the youkai except a little girl, the beat-up youkai, Sesshoumaru and Inu-Yasha, had backed _way_ off. "Next time, you won't live to tell the tale of our encounter."

The little girl timidly asked Ayami to fix her house. Ayami smiled, nodded, patted the girl-pup on the head, and walked over to the rubble. The subject of attention moved; the youkai that had been thrown into it got up and, seeing Ayami, scrambled off. An instant later, it was good as new.

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End flashback

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Lightning flashed, bringing Sesshoumaru out of his reverie. He looked up in time to see his mother turn around and send a clumsy air rend to the ryuu youkai. He dodged it and whipped around to laugh at the puny little weak "hanyou", but only to find she wasn't there. High above them, Ayami floated, seeming to radiate white light.

"YOU DARE CALL ME HANYOU! I AM NOT EVEN YOUKAI! OR HUMAN!"

"Then what _are_ you!"

Ayami smirked. "I am your worst nightmare and fear embodied. I am power incarnate. Good bye."

"Wha-" Lightning struck him, not normal lightning, but a large, green bolt of sizzling power. Ayami landed lightly on the ground as the clearing and surrounding forest was blanketed by soft, fine, white ash. Ayami smiled sweetly, looking as she did before, when they first met. The clouds dispersed, revealing it was later than everyone thought.

"Well. Who's up for something new to do? Anyone got any ideas?"

"I… have Munchkins. This game we play in my time," Kagome peeped up.

Ayami looked excited and eager at that prospect. She clapped.

"Any objections? It's settled then. We'll stay here for the night and play Munchkins."

Sesshoumaru chuckled and shook his head while Inu-Yasha groaned. Sango looked indifferent, Miroku curious and Shippo excited. Kirara had disappeared. Sango looked around for a moment, curious as to where Kirara had gotten off to, frowned and shook her head as she and the others went about setting up camp. Ayami and Kagome stood aside, whispering in a conspiratorial way. It seemed as though they were conspiring to play a joke on someone, or several some ones.

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A/N: Kōru, for those of you that don't know, means "freeze." I just want all the readers to know that this story is definitely not going to be one-shot. I like throwing all these goody little things to mess with them in the mix. I know, I'm an ebil person. XD


	2. Games from the future and spells don't m...

**Chapter Two**-_Games from the future and spells don't mix.  
_  
Ayami giggled, separating the two decks. Kagome kept snickering behind her hair as she shuffled the three Munchkin decks together. Ayami took one look at the fire and scoffed. She banished it with a wave of her hand.  
  
"We won't need that. I can provide light enough to see by."  
  
Everyone looked at her curiously, but Sesshoumaru just smiled, shook his head, and seated himself on a conveniently placed fallen log. Ayami smirked and stood, having just finished with the dice. She motioned for everyone to gather round and lit a magic light over the center.  
  
"We, Kagome-chan and I, that is, have decided to use a magical spell in concert with this game. Consequently, everything that happens in this game, and what appears, will appear in this clearing. Don't worry, though. It can't go outside this clearing and is merely an illusion."  
  
With that said Ayami sat on another log and passed the dice around to each person. She told them to set the die on one and started to explain the rules. Kagome looked at her a little weirdly, wondering how this demoness knew about the rules of the game. She asked Ayami. The latter looked at her and smiled.  
  
"Not everyone needs a well to travel through time."  
  
The entire group, minus Sesshoumaru, looked at her in shock. Inu-yasha was more puzzled than anything else. There was a soft rustle, which brought everyone's attention to it. Kirara jumped out of the bushes to pad over to Sango while everyone else looked relieved. Ayami chuckled lightly and motioned for everyone to gather around the game set, including Kirara.  
  
"Everyone must role the die to see who goes first. The person with the highest goes first and chooses which way we will go for the rest of the game. Remember, the spell will take affect the moment the first player kicks down the door to the dungeon. That said, let's get started!"  
  
After everyone had rolled, Miroku was the one with the highest roll. They sat, from Ayami's right, in this order counterclockwise: Miroku, Inu-yasha, Kagome, Sesshoumaru, Sango, and Kirara. Ayami had been seated between Miroku and Kirara. Miroku, being the first person to go, "kicked down the door," as it was called in Munchkins. The first and foremost shocking thing to occur happened to Kirara. She was no longer there in the form they knew her. In her place was a female human with the same markings and coloring in her hair and the same eye color. Her skin was a flawless pale peach color. They could all see it quite well since the very most shocking thing about her appearance was she was completely and totally naked. She looked down at her body while the others were staring in shock, still trying to process it, and tried saying something.  
  
"Oyo?"  
  
She blinked a few times and moved around a bit, then looked at all the others with their clothes.  
  
"Why do I look like the rest of you?"  
  
Darkness fell on the group as the magic lights went out. There were some protests until they all heard mutterings and the rustling of cloth. The lights came back on and the now human Kirara was dressed in a loose flowing robe, much like what Ayami was wearing, only slightly modified. They all went back to the game, while Kirara got some looks from the other players, who were wondering about her sudden transformation into a human. Inu-yasha looked confused and disturbed a little. He reached up to feel for his ears. A few moments later the game was interrupted by an outburst. Inu-yasha's voice echoed around the clearing.  
  
"Ahhhhh!!! They're gone!!!"  
  
Kagome looked at him in confusion, and then noticed his fuzzy dog ears were no longer on top of his head, or anywhere else on his body, for that matter. He had human ears, as did all other nonhuman participants. Ayami shook her head lightly.  
  
"Remember, Inu-yasha. I said that the spell would change things. Don't worry, the change isn't permanent. It's only an illusion to work with the game. I told you all this before we even started the game, remember?"  
  
Inu-yasha looked scared and all upset, with big puppy dog eyes that pleaded with her to say it would all be alright. He nodded and they all went back to the game with snickers and giggles. Miroku had gotten the Thief class card and The Horny Helmet equip card. It was then Inu-yasha's turn. His kick down the door card was a Sex Change curse card. He was horrified at being turned into a girl.  
  
(Fast forward here. Author doesn't want to type entire game out. She's lazy.)  
  
They went on with the game, each person getting items and defeating monsters. It ended up with Miroku as a female thief with the horny helmet at level 15, Kagome as a warrior at level 24, Inu-yasha as a female wizard, human elf half-breed with The Duck of Doom curse at level 24, Sesshoumaru as a female dwarf cleric with a Chicken on the head curse at level 12, Sango as a cleric with the Boots of Butt-kicking at level 18, Kirara as an elf with the badass bandana at level 29, and Ayami as an elf super munchkin thief/cleric also at level 29.  
  
It was Ayami's turn and, at the end, instead of looting the room, she went looking for trouble. In the center of the group a small, cute rodent appeared. The corresponding card was "A cute and fuzzy squirrel" and the description "Too cute to live. Your duty is clear." It was level one. She looked around at them.  
  
"Anyone have anything to add to it? Otherwise, I win."  
  
They looked around at each other. Played were a Wandering Monster with Plutonium Dragon, level twenty, plus who knows how much adds and an "And it's mate" card. To the cute and fuzzy thing that must die were several bonus cards with the "And it's clone ..." to double it. Played next was a card to make Ayami loose the card that gave her the biggest bonus. She shrugged and put it away.  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
The others looked around and then nodded. She smiled and played a fusion laser that gave her a huge bonus. With the laser-that-the-author-is-to-lazy- to-ask-a-friend-who-owns-the-game-what-the-entire-name-is-but-can-type-all- this-with-hyphens she could beat both monsters respectably strong hind ends. She smiled sweetly and looked around at them to speak.  
  
"I win."  
  
There was a collective groan and the illusion ended as the game was over. The entire group grinned as they looked around it had been a good game. Inu- yasha, Miroku, and Sesshoumaru frowned. Something didn't feel right to them. The three boys looked around, Kirara was back to her normal self and Shippou was curled up asleep; the others were looking at them kind of funny, one by one. They looked at each other. The resulting screams were enough to drive sleeping birds from their roosts in sheer terror and night prowling youkai far away from fright.  
  
"WHY ARE WE STILL GIRLS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"  
  
Apparently, while everything else went back to the way it was before, the sex-change cards had a lasting effect with the illusion. Ayami frowned and admitted as much to everybody else. She didn't know how that had happened, either. Inu-yasha looked at her in horror while Miroku thought for a moment, then spoke.  
  
"Why don't you know? Where did you get such a spell?"  
  
Ayami looked down and then back up to smile at them sheepishly.  
  
"YOU WHAT?!?! HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"  
  
Inu-yasha glared at her, breathing heavily from his-er-her yelling exertions. Miroku looked at the older woman in puzzlement.  
  
"How could you take and use a spell of unknown origin if you didn't know the effect it would have on things?"  
  
She shrugged lightly, silver hair falling in delicate strand across her face to shade her blue eyes.  
  
"It's how I am, Ms. Miroku. Don't question things like that. Let's go to sleep, it's late. We can figure out something in the morning."  
  
It seemed as though Inu-yasha would continue on, but at that moment Ayami had walked away and was looking for a good place to sleep, quite obviously ending the conversation. Miroku gave the look to Inu-yasha that said "Drop it" and everyone got settled in for the night. About an hour later everyone in the clearing was asleep, or so it seemed.

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Author speaking. I'll leave the morning to the next chapter. Feedback, meaning reviews. I just might not go through with this if I don't get enough to satisfy my curiousity. If you read it, review. It won't hurt you, but I will if I find out you don't. Hee. Review the first chapter too. If you've reviewed before and are reading it again, it won't hurt to review again. Flamers will be smited. Constructive criticizers will be given a cookie for good behavior. Hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it!!


	3. Naraku and Ayami, what's going on?

Disclaimer: I do not own copyright to Inu-Yasha. I'm working on owning him, though, I have connections enough for that. Don't tell anyone else this, but Umi, my best friend, is going to get Inu-yasha as her eighteenth birthday present. We're going to dress him up in modern clothes, make him strip, and give the rite of ownership to her. XP It's going to be great. ... Don't tell Inu-yasha that either. He'd be after my blood.

**A/N:** _Shukujo_ means "lady"

**Chapter Three**-_Naraku and Ayami, what's going on?  
_  
The night passed without mishap and sunrise found the group awaking one by one with Ayami missing. Miroku and Sango, awaking in the normal way, with a grope and a slap, got a little frantic when they couldn't find the older creature. Sesshoumaru wasn't all that worried. After Kagome was awoken by the sounds of the other two calling Ayami's name, it was Inu-yasha that found his half-brother's mother. She was sitting in a tree top that rose above the rest, watching the sun rise over the trees. She looked over at him as he landed near her in the tree.  
  
"Hey, popinjay, what are you doing up here at this time in the morning? They looking for me? You shouldn't have worried. Well, I suppose I should get down there, then, since they seem to be so worried and I've seen what I wanted."  
  
The two smiled at each other and jumped down from the tree, Ayami taking a direct route to the ground while Inu-yasha jumped to a few branches before landing on the ground. Ayami stretched, putting on a show of yawning, even though she had been awake for the past hour or so. All of the demons and the humans that could sense others froze. One word was whispered around.  
  
"Naraku."  
  
And so it was. Ayami was the first to spot him, her sharp eyes picking out where he would be even before he was there, at the opposite end of the clearing from her. The rest turned to face him and all but Sesshoumaru readied for a battle. One voice, soft yet strong and clear, tinkled across the clearing to stop them all. It was Ayami's.  
  
"Naraku? Ah, yes. I remember now. You should be a good boy for now, and you are, right?"  
  
Ayami had been smiling sweetly and nicely, but when she asked the evil demon there was a spark of danger in her eyes, as if the wrong answer could lead to a life-threatening situation. The pelt Naraku always wore outside his castle was shaking slightly, humor evident from the sounds of chuckling.  
  
"Quite, little Miss Righteous Angel. What do we have here? Inu-yasha, a _female_? Well, well, well. This should prove interesting."  
  
Ayami twitched, her silver hair becoming lightly streaked with red. There was the strong scent of blood. Her clenched fist was dripping with the aforementioned blood. Ayami looked up, not deigning to notice the looks she was getting from the demons in the company. Her blue eyes glowed ominously.  
  
"Leave now, weakling, lest you invoke my wrath upon you."  
  
Surprise flickers over the demon's aura. Fear, surprise, and curiosity are evident on each person that isn't expert at concealment, to some degree at least. Naraku laughs lightly and flexes a hand.  
  
"And how, precisely, do you plan on doing that? I don't think you are capable anymore."  
  
Ayami's anger flares higher as she rushes, seeming to disappear. Several feet from Naraku was a tree that soon became nothing more than kindling and firewood. Ayami stood next to it.  
  
"Don't think I'm capable anymore, Naraku? Then what is capable?" As she spoke, she fiddled with something in her hand. She lifted it to eyelevel. It was the larger part of a broken pink jewel. The larger of the Shikon no Tama shards, the very one that had been stolen from Kagome, only larger than before. "It seems you are missing something, dear Naraku. You should keep better track of your possessions. They could get lost so much more easily than this. And to think, I wasn't even trying."  
  
She laughed lightly, but her red-streaked silver hair belied her mood, showing she was still incensed. Ayami slipped the near completed Shikon no Tama into her pocket absentmindedly. Naraku glared at her, but apparently knew better than to ask for the jewel back, for he didn't. Ayami slid over to a tree and leaned against it, head drooping with a weariness not of the body. She sighed heavily.  
  
"What did you come here for, Naraku, besides taunting Inu-yasha and goading his friends? Dispense with the pleasantries and answer me, for it will not be enjoyable if you don't."  
  
Naraku scoffed at that, but stopped when Ayami leveled her deep, clear blue eyes on him. He left with his usual entrance/exit flare, but not before throwing a comment over his shoulder.  
  
"I came to see if the rumors were true. You should listen to the demons more often, Ayami-sama."  
  
Ayami herself was fuming. _How dare he come while I am here and anger me? He will pay for his stupidity._ She inhaled and exhaled slowly, seeking to master and calm herself. Her fists relax as she repeats a calming mantra under her breath. Inu-yasha heard this mantra and became deeply disturbed by it.  
  
"_Calm, he will pay. Patience, he will die_."  
  
Inu-yasha shakes his-er-her head and heads over to where Miroku and Sesshoumaru were crowding around Sango and Kagome, begging to know what things they were being forced to change in their lives from being changed into females. She was curious as to what she would have to do as well. Sesshoumaru knew a little more for herself, being full-blooded youkai and caretaker of Rin. She just hoped that Jaken would not come, or come with Rin. That, in her mind, would be disastrous. Sesshoumaru was, in her mind, there only because of curiosity. Sango walked off, shaking her head. She didn't want to deal with the boys'-turned-girls' perverted ness. Kagome looked after the taijiya longingly; she really didn't want to explain all this to the three. She shook her head softly and went back to explaining things they would know about being a female. Miroku, amazingly, didn't know everything there was to it. Kagome reached the part about menstruating.  
  
"Whoa! Hold it. You do **WHAT**?"  
  
Kagome groaned at Inu-yasha's outburst and interruption. She explained, once again, the concept of the tampon and how to use it. The monk, hanyou, and youkai looked utterly shocked.  
  
"Kagome, your time is messed up. Sango!! We need your help!"  
  
The demon exterminator glared slightly at them. She was really busy with packing everything else up. While Sango managed them, Kagome went around packing everything from her bag up. There was a lot of stuff around. It seemed Shippou had gotten into the chocolate again. Sango looked over at the wrappers and spilled bag and shook her head softly before turning her attention to the three that supposedly needed her help.  
  
"Lady Sango, Kagome-sama explained this to us, but we don't understand her method of dealing with such womanly problems. Could you kindly explain to us how--"  
  
Sango grabbed the monk and Inu-yasha, figuring them as being the "instigators," and dragged them into the forest to explain the process of "such womanly problems." Sesshoumaru did not bother to follow. She went to converse softly with her mother on things from the past and what they would be doing. When Kagome was finished and Sango, Miroku, and Inu-yasha had returned from their little tête-à-tête in the forest, the group gathered around Ayami and stared at her accusingly. Sango spoke up first.  
  
"You must explain to us, shukujo Ayami, what is going on."  
  
Ayami stared at them blankly for a moment, and then figured out what Sango was getting at.  
  
"You mean with little Mister I-Must-Have-Everything-My-Way? That's nothing. We just had a, ah, run-in several years back. I do believe he actually remembers that one, too. A pity."  
  
Ayami beamed and headed in the direction the group had been traveling in for the past couple of days. Sesshoumaru followed after her mother hurriedly. Inu-yasha looked at Miroku, Sango, and Kagome questioningly. They all started sprinting after the now-female youkai and her mother, with Shippou clinging to Kagome's back and Kirara on Sango's.  
  
Several hours later, close to dusk, a village came into view some distance down the path they had been following. Ayami strolled into it with a familiarity and ease that did not quite belong to a supposedly complete stranger. The villagers that were out and about, doing work and toiling in the fields the mismatched group passed, looked up to watch the strangers. The villagers thought them brave to have come here in such troubled times. Miroku was looking around with extreme interest and a frown on her face. One villager stopped what he was doing, dropped his tools, and took off for the other end of the village. The village leader was informed and got together a reception company.  
  
The group that reached the biggest building at the end of the village was a motley and ragged bunch. Clothes were travel-stained and ripped. Hair was dirty and unkempt, though not for the lack of trying. Most in the group were female, but there were a few youkai with them and there was Ayami. The village leader, Bengoshi, knew that "angel" and visibly brightened at the thought of having her here. Ayami stepped forward immediately and bowed politely to Bengoshi. She would begin introductions and try to get a good place to stay, though that was already assured, if the look on the leader's face was any clue.  
  
"Bengoshi, it is ... pleasant to see you again. As you see, I travel with others now. We would like to stay in your village for a while and hoped you could help. In turn, we will help you with your ... trouble. This is Kagome, Inu-yasha, Shippou, Sango, Miroku, and Sesshoumaru."  
  
Ayami pointed to each as she named them; they, in turn, bowed slightly to indicate who they were. Bengoshi was pleased and agreed to give them a place all their own. He signaled to a young boy to show them to the building, which had a bath. There were only two real rooms in the bathhouse they were staying in: a kitchen-type room and a changing room. The only way to get to the changing room was to go through the room with the fireplace, racks, and soup bowl. The bath was right next to the entrance room, since it had a fireplace, bowl, and a small closet with towels in it. They were told food would be brought later, if they would like it, and that tomorrow there would be a feast in their honor.  
  
The troupe looked at each other and set out to decide who would sleep where. It was decided that Kagome, Shippou, Sango, Kirara, and Miroku would sleep in the changing room while Sesshoumaru, Inu-yasha, and Ayami would sleep in the main room. It would be hot for them with the fireplace right there, but Ayami told the other two she would divert the heat into the bath and changing rooms. Bedding was brought for them and they all bathed in sets of two's and three's, so modesty and education could go on in peace. The clothes that had been left at the far edges of the bath had been taken up by someone, presumably a villager, to be cleaned. Someone commented that it was nice of them. Miroku commented that there weren't any women around, besides themselves.  
  
"Only a lech like you would notice that!"  
  
"My dear Sango! I take offense that you would call me that. I am a monk."  
  
"That reminds me, 'monk'. You are a woman now, and therefore cannot be a monk. You may now do as your heart desires and go after anyone you choose, at least for now."  
  
"Lady Ayami! I am appalled you would think such of me."  
  
"Mother, cut the theatrics and let's go to sleep. The humans need their sleep, after all. –sniff, sniff- ... Inu-yasha, why do you smell like blood?"  
  
"What? ... Aahh!! I'm bleeding! It's not stopping! I'm _going_ to _die_! The **_PAIN_**!!"  
  
Inu-yasha jumped up and looked around frantically. Kagome and Sango jump up a moment later and drag him off to remind him of menstruating and how to take care of it. Ayami sighed, shook her head, and lay down to sleep for the night, even if it was just lightly. Sesshoumaru lay down on her bedding. Miroku waited until Kagome, Inu-yasha, and Sango came back. She let the others precede her into the changing room. The door closed as Inu- yasha lay down on her own bedding. It had been decided that Miroku would sleep with the two girls, so that, if a demon attacked, the hanyou, youkai, and the youkai's mother would take care of it. If Kagome and Sango found themselves in trouble, they had Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara as well as their own skills to rely on. They all fell asleep, even if it was a light sleep, eventually, seemingly oblivious to the troubles of the village.

**A/N:** I was going to say that if I didn't get what I felt to be enough reviews by the time I got this chapter up I would give it a month then stop with the story, basically put it on hiatus. I got four new ones, so I'm not too worried about it. And ... COOKIES FOR THE REVIEWERS!!! You that reviewed, you brightened my day, seriously. I was getting pretty upset that it had only one review and was already at chapter two. I expected at least two. Then you came along and pulled through for me. Kudos to you all.

Suggested read:

**Turnabout is Fair Play** by _Ookami-chan. _This is a very good fanfiction. It's very well written and I enjoyed reading it. It's lengthy, so I wouldn't suggest it unless you were up to a few days of reading. My friend and I love it and hope that Ookami-chan can manage life while still getting a chapter or two up. We are patient and can only counsel patience to all you others that have read it all.

Tune in for the next chapter of **Fumetsu no Fushigi** _Immortal Mystery_:

**Chapter Four: **_Blood Moons and Women-Stealing Youkai_


	4. Blood Moons and Womenstealing Youkai

Disclaimer: I don't own copyright to Inu-yasha or any other affiliated character, except Ayami. I'm working on owning Inu-yasha, the person, though.

**A/N:** Any words contained in backslashes and hyphens are actions. Hyphens between the words are changes in character speaking. There are only two scenes those appear in. Good luck. Have fun reading it!

**Chapter Four**-_Blood Moons and Women-Stealing Youkai._  
  
The troupe awoke the next morning at dawn. Set in the inner part of the doorway was a stack of clothing. It wasn't their original clothes, but the clothes themselves seemed pretty comfortable. It seemed the clothing had been made specifically for them since each person had their own clothes that fit them directly. The three in the entrance room got dressed after finding their clothes. Inu-yasha picked up the remaining and placed the stack in the changing room for Miroku, Sango, and Kagome; Shippou still had his own clothes. The other three came out fully clothed, but looking at the odd garments. They weren't colored and weren't traditional Japanese clothes of that era. They all looked at Ayami accusingly. She just grinned and walked out to get some breakfast. The rest of the day would be spent speaking to the village leader.  
  
Ayami returned with some wonderful food and set it out for them all with help from Kagome and Sango. They ate in silence, contemplating what could make this village so deserted of female humans, as Miroku had pointed out last night. After the meal remains were cleaned away, they all went to the main building, the same big one they first arrived at the village. Bengoshi was waiting for them. He showed them into the hall and sat down at a table in the back. The pillows were softer than to be expected and there were several bottles of sake on the table. Inu-yasha and Sesshoumaru refrained from drinking any more than was required by politeness. Miroku drank enough to be polite, but not enough to affect her senses. Sango refrained drinking at all, as did Kagome. Shippou was not allowed to even touch a bottle of sake. Ayami was the only one to drink in liberal amounts, besides Bengoshi himself.  
  
After several hours of pleasantries and a large lunch at noon, they finally got down to "business," as Ayami called it. They finally were about to find out what the village leader was wanting them to do, and what plagued this village so bad as to take all the "voluptuous delicacies," as Miroku so delicately put it.  
  
"My dear lady Ayami, we have a problem. This village has been plagued by a horrid demon. Every few nights he comes and takes our women. The halest and most beautiful disappear into his mountaintop home. We never see them again. It is killing the village off. The husbands of the women are too afraid to leave. The fathers are worried for their daughters' safety. The young children of those women are crying over their lost mothers."  
  
Inu-yasha frowned at that and butted in, his own past coming up.  
  
"So you want us to go up there and beat this youkai up and bring back the women you've been loosing, right?"  
  
Bengoshi and Ayami shook their heads together. Ayami spoke up this time.  
  
"It's not as simple as that, Inu-yasha. They don't know what is happening to these women and girls. Some think that the youkai is using them for some spell. I don't believe it, personally. I don't feel that kind of magic at work here, something greater than that works in the dead of night with these human females. We have a better idea as to how to find out what is happening up there. Bait."  
  
At that word the others scooted away from Inu-yasha to leave her alone in Bengoshi's and Ayami's attentions. She seemed to notice that they had moved away, and that the two telling them all what was going on were giving her appraising looks. Her golden eyes widened as the iris grew in something akin to fear.  
  
"Oh hell no! No!! Don't even think that!"  
  
They grinned maliciously and grabbed her up to carry the hanyou off to see what they could do to make this stunning hanyou astonishingly beautiful. Sesshoumaru smirked and went after them, determined to see this and help if she could. Dusk was approaching in a few hours, just enough to get everybody ready. Appropriate clothing was gathered. Inu-yasha's formal kimono was brought with the obi and other accessories to be placed on the struggling hanyou. Others were brought to help Ayami and Sesshoumaru with the hanyou. Men were banished from the house to stare in bemusement as the walls and foundation of the hut shook with the fight the hanyou woman was putting up. This is what they heard:  
  
"No! No! That doesn't go there! Stick it there! Okay! Hold her down! Hold her down! Tie that there! NO! There!!-What if she gets up?-She won't get up!-How do you know that?!-I just do! Give me the obi!"  
  
"Nooo!! You will never get me in this! Let me GO!! Don't do this! Don't do this!! NOooooo!!"  
  
"Deal with it, Inu-yasha!! /-thump-/ Don't make me use the rosary! I will!! Hold still!!"  
  
"Pin her down! Pin her down!! Don't let that fall over! That's IT!! SIT!!! /-crash-/ Get her hair!! Kagome, get the hair combs!"  
  
There was much rustling and other loud, suspicious noises. The door to the hut slammed open to reveal a much disheveled Ayami panting heavily. She stumbled out and headed off to get herself ready. Kagome came out next, tugging her clothes back in the right position. She waited for the next person to come out. Sesshoumaru dragged her half-sister from the dark protection of the hut. It was a stunning change. The hanyou's hair was done up much like Kagura's, only with a ponytail-like bit hanging down in the back, as her hair was much longer than the wind demon's. The kimono had been done expertly and was quite stunning on its own, small cherry blossom petals styled into the light blue background. The obi was a soft purple. The village men whistled appreciatively. Inu-yasha glared at them. Sesshoumaru chuckled, her own clothes much like what she had been wearing before they came here, only without the armor. She had refused to put away her two swords, the Tenseiga and the Tokijin.  
  
Sango walked over to Kagome to hand a stack of white and red clothes, the taijiya dressed in her normal clothes. Hiraikotsu was missing from her back, though. When asked about it, she said she'd left the giant boomerang in the hut they were staying in. Kagome nodded, took the clothes, and went back in the hut. Ayami returned with Miroku and another stack of clothes. The older woman shoved the other into the hut after Kagome had exited. The door closed and there were rustlings from the other side. Kagome, who had just exited, looked at Ayami for approval of the miko's newly acquired red priestess clothing. The spirit woman raised her eyebrows and nodded her approval. It was at that moment the noises started. It would have gone something like this:  
  
"Ooo. Wow, this is different. /-chink, tinkle, thunk-/ I wonder what this does? /-shuddery "Whoa"-/ that's ... very ... /-cough-/ ... Okay. That felt weird. I wonder, is that what they feel? ... ... ... Hmm. I wonder. /-chink, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle ... CRASH-/ Right ... not doing that again. Ow. Right, on with the dressing. /-rustle, rustle, thunk, rustle, rustle, chink-/ Ouch! /-clatter, rustle, rustle-/ Ha! Take that!"  
  
There were noises of the staff Miroku carried being picked up once again and of her walking to the door. The next instant, it opened to reveal Miroku in blue priestess clothes. The rest of the group had gathered to stare at the hut in varying stages of disgust, amusement, wonderment, and curiosity while the villagers stared at her in amazement. Miroku stared at them innocently.  
  
"What?"  
  
There was much head shaking. Kagome and Sango, with Miroku following, headed for the main hall after Sesshoumaru and the villagers. Ayami waited, watching as Inu-yasha tried to make her way to the building. The hanyou would take two steps, then fall over, not used to being forced to take small, shuffling steps. She snarled in frustration and decided to take great bounding leaps, even though she was halfway down the road to the main hall. Inu-yasha jumped up. There was a pause after a few feet were gained, and then the ensuing crash as she fell back down to the earth. The resultant snarl of rage was enough to startle sleeping birds away. Ayami smacked the enraged hanyou on the head, hard. The dazed Inu-yasha looked at her in confusion.  
  
"Look up. For once in your life, Inu-yasha, look UP. ... I can't believe I'm surrounded by such idiocy."  
  
Inu-yasha took no offense to the second comment, as she was busy looked at the night sky. The sun had just gone down and the stars were peeking down at the ground. She frowned as she looked around at the sky. There was no moon.  
  
"Where's the moon? ... No. I-It can't be. No. Not ... the new moon?!"  
  
She looked down at her claws as they started to retract and then lifted her hands to feel for her fangs, they were going too. Her silver hair was turning raven. She looked panicked for a moment and reached up to feel for her ears. They were receding down her head and becoming human in appearance.  
  
"Great! Just great! Now all that needs to happen be for it to rain!"  
  
A small cloud appeared right above her and let loose a torrent of rain. No where else did it rain. The drenched hanyou stared straight in front of her. Ayami laughed.  
  
"Never tempt Fate, my little popinjay. You never know when you may regret it!"  
  
The rain cloud had ceased its torrential downpour on everybody's favorite tormented hanyou. Said hanyou hiked up her kimono and finally got to the main hall. She was famished, if truth be told. Inu-yasha looked relieved to be there and started for the door. One problem, a guard stood in her way, smirking confidently.  
  
"Only way you're getting by, little missy, is if you pucker up and give me a kiss."  
  
Inu-yasha stared at him in horror and rage. Her hands balled into fists.  
  
"What? There is no way in hell I would ever kiss you."  
  
"Then I guess you ain't gettin' by."  
  
There was a silence for a while as Inu-yasha bowed her head in frustration. She stiffened and then looked at the guard speculatively. Fine. If he wants a kiss, she'd give him a kiss, but not the way he was expecting it.  
  
"Fine. Close your eyes and lean forward."  
  
His eyes gleamed happily and did as she said. Inu-yasha grinned maliciously. The next thing the guard knew, he was on the ground and his face was in some serious pain. The woman he demanded a kiss from had punched him! The degradation of it all. Inu-yasha grinned broadly and happily, glad to have been able to vent some of her anger. Everyone else that didn't know her looked shocked at that show of power. The guard she'd just knocked over was pretty strong, after all. Everyone sat down and started the meal.  
  
After a few moments, there was a roar and a crash. The villagers looked sorrowful and several left. Inu-yasha and those of her group looked up and around, alarmed. Bengoshi nodded and looked to them.  
  
"The demon has come. It is time to line up the women."  
  
The troupe looked confused, then noticed that the few women they had seen in the village were being lined up and others were coming for them. Kagome, Sango, and Miroku went quietly when the men asked them politely to come with them. Sesshoumaru was glaring at the two nervous humans that had approached her, two fingers raised in preparation as they tried to politely persuade her that their lives depended on it and to please, please, please come with them without a huge fuss.  
  
Ayami was sitting quietly in her corner, off in her own little world, when two of the guards approached her and picked her up by her arms. She snapped out of it and looked at their hands as she was being dragged to the line. The demon could be heard outside demanding all the women be lined up and that he could smell more. Ayami glared at their hands and stopped short.  
  
"Unhand me. I will go with you, but let my arms go. I would like fully functional limbs when we get out there."  
  
They unhanded her. The moment she was released, she headed back to where Sesshoumaru was still holding the nervous humans enthralled. She glared at her son-turned-daughter. Ayami grabbed the front of Sesshoumaru's clothes and started dragging the demon out to be lined up. She spoke up as she heard her offspring about to protest.  
  
"If I have to go, then so do you."  
  
Ayami let go the moment they were out at the line, which was right outside the hall. They saw Inu-yasha running with others right behind her. The human Inu-yasha grabbed a tree and wrapped her arms around so fully that they could not pry her from it. Sesshoumaru glared and fumed. She walked up to her half-sister and grabbed her at the midriff to drag her to the line, tree and all.  
  
"If Ayami has to go, then I have to go. If I have to go, then you have to go."  
  
She set down the clinging Inu-yasha. The tree quivered as Inu-yasha tightened her grip on the trunk, letting leaves rain down on the other women. Sesshoumaru and Sango shook their heads at the antics of Inu-yasha. It was then that they noticed that the women from the village had scooted away from them. A timid-looking girl in her teens pointed discreetly to where the demon was, towering over them. They all turned around and gasped at what stood there. Soaring over them was a demon that looked much like Goshinki in height and shape, but there the resemblance ended. He sounded ever so polite when he spoke though.  
  
"So many beautiful ones. I don't know which one to take. Hmm ... I know. I'll just take them all."  
  
He set the cage he held and opened it. He scooped his hand around to try and herd Sesshoumaru, Inu-yasha, Ayami, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku into the cage.  
  
"Come along now. Come along. Please get in the boxy thing. It's for your own safety you know. It would be terrible if any of you dropped from the precipitous heights I live in. You there, with the tree. You need to let that go and come along now."  
  
There was a low, feral growl from the woman "with the tree." She stood, still gripping the tree trunk, and glared at the youkai in front of her. Inu-yasha was breathing quite heavily, which couldn't be good for the health, could it? She advanced slowly, tree dragging behind her.  
  
"I have NOT had a very good week and you are not helping. First! I had to fight who knows how many demons to get here! My half-brother's mother uses some stupid spell to turn me, him, and a monk into FEMALES!! Then I become the first of us to learn, first-hand, what it's like to go through female monthly problems. Now it's the new moon and I'm stuck as a HUMAN!! And you have the audacity to DEMAND that I get in the cage with the people I have fought demons and collected jewel shards with along with the woman that CAUSED all my problems of the past few days?! LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING!! I don't feel all that well. I have a pain in my lower abdomen that WON'T go away, even with youkai healing powers working on it! I have a permeating smell of blood ALL OVER ME!! I can't express my love to a woman because I'm stuck AS A WOMAN!! AND YOU ARE PISSING ME OFF!!!"  
  
Kagome looked like she was trying to hide being stricken at Inu-yasha admitting love to someone, since she thought it was Kikyou the hanyou-human spoke of. Ayami bumped into her and smiled gently, in that way that says "not to worry, everything will turn out for the better, you'll see". Miroku saw the expressions and silent exchange and stored it in her head for later examination.  
  
The demon had been inching back from the onslaught of this raging female. He blinked at her politely, as if very startled to have this one human girl speak to him and spill her heart out in an enraged rant.  
  
"Well. I'm very sorry to hear that. Truly I am. You'll have to leave the tree behind."  
  
Inu-yasha's frame shuddered with her withheld rage. Her eye twitched in annoyance as she stared at this demon with red tinged vision. She screamed in fury and hit the demon on the head with the tree several times. He stared at the world cross-eyed and fell over, speech slurred from being dazed.  
  
"Mammy I wloov yu an' neeeed yu healp."  
  
Inu-yasha stared at the demon for a little while, then turned back to the villagers. Her eyes went wide and filled with tears. She ran over and just about bowled Kagome over in her attempt to get to someone that would give her comfort. She pouted into Kagome's stomach, arms locked around the girl's small waist. She was raving and crying and being very upset. Kagome looked at the others pleadingly, petting the crying girl attached to her waist in an attempt to soothe her. She sat down on the cage floor and pulled Inu-yasha into a sitting position next to her. They sat there and talked softly, speech from the upset girl interrupted by effects of her crying.  
  
The demon came to his senses and shook his head. He looked at all the girls in the cage. They were all there. He grinned, as much as one can with that kind of snout-ish mouth. The cage door shut and he lifted it gently. The demon started off for the mountaintop, where his home rested. He got to a ledge that jutted out and stopped for a bit. The mists parted to reveal a magnificent mansion of sorts where the peak should have been. The women in the cage stared in disbelief and 'wowed' appreciatively.

########

**A/N:** I have finally figured it out. ... Right. From last chapter on, I will be suggesting fanfictions to those that read this. Each one will be different. Trust me, I found enough good ones to last until the end. Enjoy.

Suggested read:

**Grey Eyes and Golden Nightmares** by _Ookami-chan_ This is an ... interesting fanfiction. It definately gives a little twist to the normal view of all the characters. Highly interesting.

Next chapter: **Chapter Five-**_So many shinies! What? There's a jewel shard around?_


	5. Author's notes on this story

**_THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER!!!_**

I have been thinking recently and have come to a conclusion, as well as a decision, about this fanfiction. If I do not feel that I don't have the appropriate amount of responses in accordance of how many chapters there are, I will discontinue this, as it will be a waste of time I could spend on my grades, friends, and boyfriend-type-guy-friend (don't ask). For now, unless I get death threats in general and semi-serious threats from Shae, _Fumetsu no Fushigi (Immortal Mystery)_ is on indeterminable hiatus. I will continue to write the chapters for those that really are reading it, but just aren't reviewing. People, kindly remember that the reviewing function is to encourage and help the authors with their writing. It is to provide us, the authors, with feedback on how you, the readers, feel about how the story is going and alter it accourdingly, if that is what we so wish. I must also remind you all that the reviews are also to provide the authors with a rough estimate of how many people read the story. All I ask is that you review. I do not care if it is negative or not; though I would like it if those negative reviews be kept to a polite format. I don't want to find my inbox full of reviews that are full of colorful words and inappropriate and rude namecalling. Any derrogative words directed my way will be ignored and will not count towards reviving this story, as will reviews with next to no grammar and spelling. Please, use what you are taught in school. I may be only sixteen, but I do have a sense of honor and pride. I can understand if english is not your first language, though. Thank you to those that are patient and understanding (Shae). It truly means a lot to me.

Arigatou gozaimasu minna-san,

Kaze Mizu'umi


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